SEO, or search engine optimization, is a strategy to improve the visibility of your website using techniques that consider how search engines work and how your customers seek information. Here are three tips to get you thinking about your SEO approach:

1. Keywords

There are plenty of ways to help find the right keywords (one of the most popular methods is Google’s Search-Based Keyword Tool.) But while the tendency can be to focus solely on the most popular keywords, remember that using several low traffic keywords can collectively send more visitors your direction than a few high-traffic key words, and a combination of both can be the win-win you’re looking for.

2. Optimize Content

With your key words in hand, you can optimize your website content. Search engines “read” your website for content and keyword rankings. You can sway their choices by strategically optimizing your content for appropriate keywords. Careful though, overusing keywords can make your content boring … or even worse, annoying. Always keep your customer’s needs in mind. What are they looking for, and how does what you offer address their needs?

3. Blogging

Blogging allows you to answer questions that your customers (both current and future) are asking. Blogging is an effective way to bring more traffic to your website, and by sharing your new blog posts via social media you create more links to your website, which in turn optimizes your standing in search results. In addition, blogging becomes the conversation between you and your customers and engages them in an ongoing way.

Don’t be overwhelmed with the endless amount of information on SEO. Strategy is here to help you develop a step-by-step approach to improve your messages and website content to increase traffic and leads. Check out some other articles on SEO here.

Strategy is proud to present it’s newest marketing package: The LEGO Plan. Our skilled designers will create a brand identity for your business entirely out of LEGO bricks. Our team is crazy about LEGOS and thinks your customers will be too when they see your company’s new plastic presence.

The LEGO Plan includes:
· A LEGO Logo – Your branding rebuilt with LEGO bricks
· A LEGO Website – A web page or e-commerce solution made entirely out of LEGO bricks (Your clients would need to physically visit the site)
· LEGO Social Media Posts – Still working on how this one would work exactly…
· LEGO T-Shirts – Uncomfortable and a bit fragile, but certainly made of LEGOs
· LEGO Business Cards – They don’t fit in your wallet, but they sure are fun!
· LEGO Promotional Can Coolers – These would likely not keep a can cold

Please contact one of our marketing specialists if you are interested in The LEGO Plan and have a happy April Fool’s Day!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/new-marketing-package-the-lego-planAre You Using This? Discover One of the Fastest Growing Social Media Siteshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/are-you-using-this-discover-one-of-the-fastest-growing-social-media-sitesTue, 21 Oct 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLCStrategy, LLC

You like pictures, right? They draw you in. They entice you to discover more about what they’ve captured. Maybe that picture will lead you somewhere. Maybe you’ll learn something new or discover an unknown treasure. Meet Pinterest! You share images, others share images, everyone is discovering new and amazing ideas! It’s a virtual corkboard of everything that interests you. So, what about your customers? Do they find your awesome products on Pinterest? Is your business “pinned” up on virtual corkboards around the world? It can be!

Pinterest has catapulted to the top of the charts when it comes to quality of use, quantity of users, and ease of use. With 10 million unique visits per month – yes, you read that right… per MONTH – Pinterest just might get you more customers. You’ve already got the pics of your products and services on your website, so why not take advantage of this new social media outlet? You just upload your images with links. That’s it! Sound too easy to be true? It is easy… and it’s true!

It’s also easily intuitive to learn and use. You might even find some great pins to share and enjoy; just save them on a “board” you create. Follow other Pinners to find pins that will support your business, share your products and services, and share images and links onto themed based boards. You will be well on your way to gaining new customers! Images are worth a thousand words, and possibly thousands of dollars when “word of mouth” advertising is raised to a whole new level on Pinterest.

Here are a few ways to take advantage of this great social media site:

1. Add a “Pin It” button from Pinterest to your website, especially on product pages.
2. Use a Pinterest Business Page and a personal page to get the most exposure. If you only have time for one, choose the Business Page because it verifies your business website and gives analytics within the account.
3. Create boards with thematic interest based on your product and service offerings.
4. Make sure to use high quality pictures of your offerings.
5. Follow other businesses that support but are not in competition with yours.

Pinterest is the place to find great things quickly. Why wouldn’t your business benefit! For more tips on social media, visit our blog. We are here to help!

#1 – Company Logo

This might be the most obvious, but many small companies don’t realize the value of future development when it comes to a company logo. As you build your brand, your logo needs to be memorable and ready to use in different media.

Make sure it is clear when made smaller for social media profile use.

Make sure it stays distinct when making slight changes to it as necessary for events, promotions, and products.

Make sure the artistic value does not distract from the brand message.

#2 – Collateral

There are still a lot of plain, boring business cards, brochures, letterhead, and other collateral materials running around the world today.

Use color in your images that speaks about your business, gives mood, or makes emotion play into your product or service.

Use graphics to make people notice your business card out of the mass collection they have acquired.

If you choose to keep black lettering on a white background for a bold direct statement, then make sure to let the font speak volumes. Make it intentional.

#3 – Website Design

Your logo should not be the only use of graphics on your website. That ‘s not to say we all shouldn’t be careful of “image over-kill.” There is such a thing as too much to look at on a page. But strategically placed graphics with product info, company motto, customer reviews, article links, and other pertinent information can help make your website stand out over the competition.

#4 – Packaging

Instantly, when we hear packaging, we think about the box the product is wrapped in. But packaging goes beyond that. How a business packages its advertising through the mail, what coupons look like, and how give-a-ways are presented are just a few of the numerous ways that packaging can make a memory for the customer. Also be sure your graphic design elements are consistent throughout all your marketing campaigns.

#5 – Social Media

This might be the biggest and best use of graphic design, second only to the logo. Followers on social media will not only recognize your posts quickly, but they will remember your company first if your graphic design is utilized well. An occasional well-worded text-only post is a stand out among the over-used memes these days, but a beautiful graphic image still catches eyes and turns heads.

These 5 things are more effective in your business communication when graphic design is given the attention it needs. Your customers will come to see you as the expert in your field when they have more to remember. Graphics help with this tremendously. Learn more about how images help tell your stories in our article Images, Videos, and Logos, OH MY! Marketing At Its Best Tells Stories.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-ways-your-business-can-use-graphic-design-effectively6 Details Every Business Owner Should Have Ready for Their Graphic Designerhttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/6-details-every-business-owner-should-have-ready-for-their-graphic-designerMon, 07 Jul 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLCStrategy, LLC

From designing your business logo to the aesthetic value of your website to your packaging, a new graphic design project takes several points into consideration. Here are 6 important details to have ready for your graphic designer to get the very best graphic images to use on your site, products, and social media accounts.

#1 – Company Name, Basic Information, and Details

Convey what your company does along with the top products and services you provide or plan to provide upon expansion.

#2 – Company or Product Goals

It will benefit you to always have a brief overview of your company and products, the goals of your company, and experiences you have already had that pertain to the new graphic project.

#3 – Your current logo or top points of interest for branding.

A copy of what you currently use and what you’d like to see incorporated into new projects speeds up the process. What colors do you like? What other logos have you seen that have design elements you’d find appealing in your new logo or graphic design? What feeling do you want to convey?

#4 – Any current taglines or mottos that your company was founded on or has embodied since it began.

What is important - at the top of the list - about your company that you want your customers to see and remember?

#5 - A list of what sets your company above the competitors.

You probably already have researched what your customers want, what they care about, and what demographic they are. Graphics need to cater to these very things.

#6 – Your current estimated time frame and budget amount.

These may change slightly when you see all the options and start picking the most important details, but knowing these will help your graphic designer know where to start to get you as close as possible to what you have in mind.

By having these 6 main key points ready, you are well on your way to great, eye catching graphics. Strategy LLC can answer all your questions about graphic design projects. Give us a call any time!

When you decided to start your business, you had a few things already in mind. Your vision included your passion for the products or services you wanted to provide, your financial investment position, and your local outreach, even if simply to family and friends. Maybe you got online and researched a URL, or maybe you already set up a website but it could use some traffic.

In a world where marketing your business can make or break your success, we encourage you to dive right in. Whether this is your first year in business, or you’ve been in it for a while, marketing your business is crucial to growth. Word-of-mouth positive advertising is fabulous, but it can only take a business so far these days. You need some practical, easy first steps to get your marketing strategy off the ground.

The following 5 starter steps to beginning your company marketing strategy will help you get your word out to a greater audience.

1. Write down your company’s USP - its unique selling proposition.

What is unique about your company, your services, your products? What sets you apart from all the rest? What made people’s ears perk up when you told them about your company ideas the very first time? These things will make up your USP. Don’t miss this crucial step. It helps define the next 4 steps with great detail and will help you when you decide on your branding tactics.

2. Decide who your target market is and how far that reach will go out geographically.

What is your best demographic? Do you intend to reach a younger generation, homeowners, women, everyone? Do pick a main target group to help with marketing wording and graphics, but by all means don’t leave out the parts of the population that unexpectedly will love your product or see its benefits and recommend it to those they know inside your target market.

3. Write down the benefits of your products and services as they apply to the target market.

What is it about your products and services that will turn them into “gotta have it” items for your target group? Here is where step #1 really kicks in. Your USP is YOURS, so now is the time to illuminate it. Build on it by going into more detail about what you offer.

4. Decide and document how you will showcase those products and services and your company as a whole.

Would your company benefit from t-shirts, pamphlets, or other localized marketing products? Maybe you want to consider even greater territory and add hard copy ads. Is your company regional or national? Then consider a larger website than just a small, startup site. A larger website would include a blog that posts your expert advice and products, specific product and service pages, community involvement, charitable work, and possibly an e-commerce section. Make a long list here. Dream big about how you will showcase your company!

5. Pick the best marketing methods to showcase them based on your budget, your target market, and your desired end results.

Here is where you take the “dream list” in step 4 and choose a few that fit your current budget. Don’t limit yourself on this because when the marketing starts bringing people to your website and your phone rings more, then you will begin to add to that budget and get further into your “dream list.” Don’t forget who your main target market is, but leave a little room for those outside who might be drawn to your product or service in the near future.

And now for Strategy’s SUPER TIP:

Don’t put all these lists away and forget about them after you get your marketing plan up and running! Go back and look at them 2-3 times a year as you evaluate what is working and what may not be working to your best advantage. Marketing is never static in general, and it won’t be any different for your company. As you grow and change, so should your marketing.

Strategy LLC is ready to answer any questions you may have about setting up your marketing strategy. Contact us today, and let’s get started!

Implementing easy marketing ideas can be as fun as creating products and services for your business. We have tons of easy, quick marketing ideas to get your business noticed by more people. How about these 5 easy things? Get started today!

Update your business cards. This may seem like a small task in your marketing strategy, but that is the beauty of it! It is a small but powerful thing. We usually notice things with our eyes first when it comes to media. A new, eye-catching business card with graphics will be noticed, and it might even be put at the front of a person’s “must call” list!

Create a web version (digital version) of your brochures. Not everyone is on your mailing list that wants to see what you have to offer. Unlike a print ad (which can be very helpful at times), making a PDF or other web version of your brochures is one of the least expensive ways to get continual exposure.

Give something away. As business owners we tend to think “bottom line” all the time. Sometimes the bottom line needs to fluctuate a bit to allow for growth. Give some products away on your social media outlets, have a contest on your website or for your e-newsletter recipients, donate some items for local giveaways and prizes. The amount of eyeballs on your products grows exponentially when people get their hands on them and start talking about them to their friends.

Re-engage past customers. This sounds difficult, but it isn’t. Provided you still have emails or addresses, you can send them special “For Our Customers Only” samples, contests, and other incentives for them to consider your business again. Don’t worry about them possibly not needing what you offer because even if they don’t, they have friends who might!

Create a “Thank YOU” incentive. Start a “Customer of the Month” campaign and reward them, share testimonials and photos from your customers of your product or service being used. Connect with other businesses to cross promote in the community and to thank them for partnering with your businesses.

Now it’s your turn. We bet you could brainstorm several ways to easily market your business. What ideas do you have?

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-easy-start-today-marketing-tips-to-promote-your-businessCool Business Technology That Will Save You Time and Moneyhttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/cool-business-technology-that-will-save-you-time-and-moneyMon, 16 Jun 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLCStrategy, LLC

Gone are the days when you could barely leave the office for fear of missing a call. Cell phones keep us connected anywhere, anytime. But what about meetings, document reviews, major decisions, interviews, employee/employer questions … this list could go on forever, right? You don’t want to miss those, but you can’t stay chained to your desk. Some business has to be done on the road. Cross-device software to the rescue!

If you make just a small jump to invest in an extra device or two as well as a few productivity apps or software programs, your time and money will be saved in the long run and your productivity will go up, up, up! The same software that can be utilized and synced on a computer and a cell phone can also be synced and used on an easy-to-carry tablet. There are dozens of apps that assist in video conferencing on the go, interviewing potential employees, making appointments in real time, and reading, creating, or editing important time-sensitive documents. And those are just a few solutions for important business tasks among the plethora of available apps.

Many apps and software programs are free to download on extra devices, so adding it to your employees’ devices is feasible. Even if it costs a bit extra, if you want convenience then apps and cross-device software programs are definitely the way to go. There are a couple of things you and your employees want to remember when using these convenient tools.

Security measures are a must. Use secure Wifi or cellular data and always use a strong password.

Watch over your shoulder when using these productivity apps in public. No, don’t be paranoid! Just make sure you are not inadvertently sharing your private data with the world through your local coffee shop.

So when business can’t wait, but neither can that business trip, lunch meeting, or other appointment, try the many business productivity cross-device apps on the market. But remember the most important rule of all: take time away from mobile and electronic devices for personal sanity, too!

Read other great business tips on our blog and e-newsletter at our website.

The Internet, often called the World Wide Web or the Information Super Highway, is just huge. These names say it all. It’s worldwide, and it’s a web of pages connected to pages, sites connected to sites, and information everywhere. Think about your website for a minute. How many of your own pages link to pages on your website, your social media sites, your e-commerce site, your blog, and other reputable sites you respect? Now multiply those places by the amount of sites and pages they are linked to beyond that. That’s a big number! Everything is 6 degrees away from everything else in this world. You can’t possibly control the user experience once people leave your site, but you can make sure each customer has a successful time on your site and within the tiny portion of the web you weave on the Internet.

So, how can you make sure that your customers are always going to have a great user experience on your site? Follow these 5 easy tips to make sure your customers’ user experience is top notch, leaving them coming back time and again for more.

Tip #1 - Give them a highway they can travel with ease.

We are sure you’ve been on some websites, just as we have, that make your head spin. They lack ease of use, continuity, convenient links, or they just give you the bare minimum of information leaving you wanting more. And if the site has more than one of these problems then it might as well have a home page that reads “leave now.” Pretend you are the customer when you sit down with your web designer and visit your competitors’ sites to see what is good and what is missing. Lastly, think simple. Less is really more when it comes to the form and function of a website.

Tip #2 – Give them the details.

Provide them with the information and data you have. That’s exactly what they are looking for when they come to your site to find expert advice. Don’t hide precious information that your customers can easily find other places. They want to know the details of products – size, usability, color options, shipping information, and anything else you’d want to know if you were purchasing.

Tip #3 - Be there quickly to answer questions.

Tip #2, above, can only get you so far, and everyone who uses the web knows that too much data can backfire. It can make a website look overcrowded and messy. So, while you are doing your best to provide the necessary information to your customers, they may still have additional questions. Answer your emails quickly, be prepared with information, and always return emails that you get during the off hours in a timely manner.

Tip #4 - Don’t sell to your customers. Help them purchase what they want.

Your customers don’t want a pushy salesman, a commission hungry sales shark, or a know-it-all, tell-it-all attitude. The point here is that most of us are not like that, but we can easily sound that way if we treat all customers by the book. Your customers need you to help them and to genuinely care that they choose the right product or service. If you are helpful, they will know you have what they need because of your kindhearted approach and wealth of knowledge to the questions they ask. This starts with an easy to find FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page that speaks to them as if they were talking to you directly. Then, if they still have questions, they will email or call and you can be ready.

Tip #5 – Keep your website running properly.

This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many websites have missing pages and broken links to internal pages, not to mention outside websites. A big fat error received on the computer screen just makes your company appear slow to the finish line. For every broken link a customer experiences, we venture to guess it’s one more groaning click to a competitor’s website.

We share these very important tips that we put into practice for our clients’ websites so that you too can get ahead of the game in customer web experience. If you are need of a website, or would like yours overhauled and brought up to date, we’re glad to chat with you about the possibilities. Contact us today!

With the amount of competition for any given field, you want your business to stand out, to be remembered, to be CHOSEN. How do you do that? You do that by getting in on the trends that nearly everyone will be using. Make no mistake. These 5 trends will be no fads. They are here to stay.

#1 - QR Codes

“QR” stands for Quick Response, and that is exactly what you want from your customers. It’s that square barcode we are starting to see everywhere. When a mobile user scans the QR code with any number of free apps, they are immediately taken to your website or blog. So get one and put it on your business cards, brochures, and even product packaging. People want to learn about your business and QR codes waste no time in taking them to the answers. Be sure to make your website mobile friendly so it works best when used on a mobile device.

#2 – Cool Fonts

Skip Arial and Helvetica and go straight for the coolest font you can find. Your logo and texts will jump right off the page! Be sure to check out Google Fonts to find some fun free fonts to use!

#3 – More Images, Less Text

If your customers see words galore when they first arrive at your website then most likely all they will see is “wa wa wa wa wa” (insert Charlie Brown’s teacher sound here). Instead, give them an awesome image with a few words to hook them.

#4 – Go Simple

Simple lines. Simple content. Simple everything. Clean is IN.

#5 – Get App-atized

Connect your website and business to customers through Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Those are just a smidgen of the apps available to utilize. The customers and clients are already there, so meet them on their own turf.

These 5 trends will keep your business on customers’ minds. And on their minds means the first business they turn to when looking for your products or services!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-trends-to-make-your-customers-remember-youHeartbleed: What It Is and What To Do about Ithttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/heartbleed-what-it-is-and-what-to-do-about-itMon, 05 May 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLCStrategy, LLC

You’ve probably heard about Heartbleed by now. This major bug, which was accidentally created by the developer, has wreaked havoc on secure websites everywhere. You might have even begun noticing major disruptions on the Internet while companies install patches and clean up the mess it left. Many websites were affected and information could be compromised because of it, but most major companies that were not even attacked because of the vulnerability are advising you to change your password to avoid any chances of your account being breached.

The bug, which hit the entirety of Internet encryption, has damaged websites far beyond a mere annoyance. Internet encryption is what runs that SSL lock you see on many websites, and it was made to protect your most valuable information. Heartbleed allows the lock to be breached, but there is nothing to be frightened of as some sites might have you thinking. However, if you own a site that uses OpenSSL encryption, it might be a daunting task to repair this issue. We recommend you contact your website administrator immediately to make sure private information for your website and your customers stays private.

Heartbleed is a bit different than the average bug because it doesn’t necessarily walk right in the front door and steal your private information like credit card numbers, name, and phone numbers. The bug makes it possible for hackers to steal the security certificates used by websites that verify the site is authentic. If you trust a site to be authentic (by that lock or the SSL symbols) then you are most likely going to think it is the same bank or other institution you normally log into and fill in your username and password. There is the catch: that isn’t your bank. You don’t realize it, but the hacker has planned it.

While companies and website owners scramble to patch this vulnerability, you are probably wondering what to do to protect your information. The very best thing is to change all of your passwords immediately. Don’t give the hackers time to trick you into not only knocking on the door of that familiar looking website, but walking right on in.

The very best passwords are best set to at least 8 characters. Using a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols is an even better way to make that long password. The 3 most important rules of password creation are:

never use the same password on multiple sites.

never use an easy to guess full word or phrase like “password” or “ILoveMom”.

never use sequential numbers or letters like “1234” or “ABCD”

If you have password manager software that makes up passwords on the spot, then you are already ahead of the ballgame on appropriately safe passwords. Just be sure to change them a.s.a.p. to save yourself trouble later.

You’ve got a fabulous website, images and video adorn it, and your blog articles and social media posts are rolling out. You are now asking the next logical question: “Is there anything else I should be doing to keep my customers connected to my business?” There is only one answer to that very important and smart question. “YES!” (We say with excitement because we know it works!)

The answer: E-Newsletters. The next step is to start sending out a monthly or weekly email newsletter to your clients and customers to engage them, inform them, make them want to click and buy. “Okay, but what do I do?” (Good second question.) Here are the 5 most important things that you can do in email newsletters.

Let your customers know you remember them and appreciate them. Talk to them. Engage them. Use the word YOU. They like that you know them and it invites them to read. Using the word YOU is much like a call-to-action.

You may have what they need now. But if not now, then later. By keeping in touch with them via email newsletters, you will be there with what they need when they need it.

Give your readers helpful information. That’s why they came to your business in the first place. They are looking for info, tidbits of useful life stuff, and then… they notice your offerings. You become the expert.

Show them what you’ve been doing. Served the community at a benefit? Helped a current client solve a problem? Opened a new location? Designed a fabulous piece of artwork? Show them in your email newsletter. Make connections with the people and you will keep the people.

Let them know about promotions, referral discounts, and other goodies. Give away something they need or want and you’ll get their attention for certain. And don’t forget to showcase the winners in your newsletters since they love to see faces of happy people!

And one note of encouragement: don’t worry over unopened email newsletters or unclicked links. Worry gets us nowhere fast. Concentrate instead on giving new and current customers something to talk about with their co-workers, friends, and family. They will remember you for it.

There you have it. The 5 easy steps to make our Tip #10 spring to action! If you need help with any of these tips we’ve featured, we’d be more than happy to discuss our offerings. We are here to help your business soar! Contact us here. If you missed any of the tips, you can find the entire list on our blog.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-10-keep-clients-and-customers-informed-send-e-newslettersWhy Graphics are Essential for Today’s Marketing Strategieshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/why-graphics-are-essential-for-todays-marketing-strategiesMon, 14 Apr 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLC.Strategy, LLC.Graphics of all kinds are essential for your company’s marketing strategy plan. Why? Because people need reminders, and visual graphics seem to be one of the best kinds. Graphics can remind people that they need to check out your product or service line. If you have a great hook line or company motto, putting it on a photo or graphic design, then sharing it via social media on several occasions reminds your clients and customers they need to check out what you offer. People are more inclined to see images and remember them over even the simplest call-to-action words. And if you make that graphic clickable – let it take them right to your website – then you are on top of the game.

Did you catch that “tip-inside-a-tip”? Share it multiple times. You don’t want to share it on all of your social media channels twice a day or even every day for a week, but sharing it occasionally in case people miss it the first time helps keep them informed. Also, sharing something multiple times allows followers the opportunity to share it with their friends. There, you met two goals in one!

Another option for your image and graphic use is to showcase a specific product or service. And if a graphic contains a little helpful information about that specific product or service, it will entice them to want to learn even more. You can tell your clients and customers two things by doing this. First, you show them the great product or service you offer right within that email, tweet, or post. Second, you give them a tad bit of info about it right on the graphic that makes them want to click. Be sure to make that image link to the product so the client knows you are ready for their business like these:

You might also consider using info graphics in your blog posts and other informative websites. An info graphic is a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. They are most often used to show a large amount of information in a quick way like this example:

One last tip on using graphic images on your website is to make sure your logo is memorable and reusable. Does it accurately represent what you can do for your clients and customers? Can it be used on other sites like blogs, social media sites, news sites, and affiliate sites? Never forget your brand is the way your customer perceives you, and your logo is usually the first thing they see. Make sure the size and other attributes make your company shine!

People will remember your company simply by the eye candy you give them. It’s a “visual jingle.” As long as your images support your brand, you can’t go wrong using graphics. Strategy LLC can design the graphics you need to stay ahead in your marketing plan… and the competition! Contact us today to inquire.

Your website is nearly done. You’ve worked hard getting all of your products on the first page so that when people land on your site they won’t miss a thing. Wait. You put all of your products on the home page. While this might seem like the most convenient design for your guests, let’s explore the dilemma this could put your website in rather quickly. The following 3 common website layout and design mistakes could make your website just a 2-second site.

Mistake: Your product or service list is everywhere or nowhere.

You had good intentions of making everything accessible from your front page, but you forgot that most people are accessing your website from a mobile device these days. If you have more than 2 products (images, info, pricing, etc.), then that means loading time is at a snail’s pace even on fast internet connections.

Solution: You want neither “everywhere” nor “nowhere.” Your best design option is to feature a product or a promotion – or even a seasonal item - on your home page with a link to your product page. Also, be sure to use a permanent navigation button that links to your product page. Your product page is where you can put links to specific brands or types of products. This makes finding a specific product much easier for your customers.

Mistake: Your FAQ (frequently asked questions) page is hard to find.

Solution: If your customers have questions, they want answers… and quick! Make a specific page devoted to those questions that most of your customers would likely ask. You might already have a list of answers to those common questions. This could be the easiest page to make outside of your contact page!

Mistake: Contact information is hard to find or non-existent.

Solution: This might not be your intent, but it can be easily forgotten. If your customers don’t see real life contact info and a “contact us” page, expect your validity to be questioned. There are many spammers out there who do this intentionally. You don’t want to be lumped in with them inadvertently, so make your contact info is easy to find.

Making these three things easy to find on your website, but not overcrowding your main page with it all, will likely land your site in the customer’s “bookmarked pages” file. They will return because they can navigate your site easily and quickly.

Our take on the Top Marketing Trends for 2014 might just help you up your marketing game. There is always the chance - and it is pretty high with the way marketing methods pop up – that something else will work its way into this list during the New Year, but these are the things we believe will be trending. Why is “what’s trending” important for your company? Because “what’s trending” is where you will find the people – read “potential customers.”

Google+

Yes, it has been around for a while. Maybe you have a personal Google+ account, but have you started one for your company? (They should be separate to be sure to keep personal things from ending up on your company page.) 2014 might just be the year that Google+ inches closer to the #1 social platform, Facebook, and closes the gap by a lot (it is currently the #2 social media platform). This makes complete sense when you consider that Google has the most popular search engine with 2 million searches every 60 seconds! Its brand is already on everyone’s mind.

Videos

If your company can make, or have made, an occasional short video of your services or products, then you should do it. Why? Because so much of what people are doing on the internet comes in 60 second bursts with music for mood. If you put together the best photos or moving video, even a 6 second Vine video on Twitter, with great music to set the tone, it will not only get attention, it is bound to get shared. Then you’d have the quickest “word of mouth” advertising that exists.

Brand Utility

Have you heard about it yet? It has other names too: branded content, branded entertainment, advertainment. It sounds complicated, but it isn’t. Just imagine it this way: if you and your company have a missional drive, a charitable heart, an educational vision, or a cause you find important, then you are likely already on your way to a successful brand utility. You don’t always have to advertise product; you can advertise heart. Show the world what you believe in. Social marketing is perfect for exposing brand utility. Give people useful information, share a recipe or home tip, show them how to contribute, or allow them to make the world a better place through your company. Eco-friendly “green”

companies are doing this from the get-go, but your company doesn’t have to sell eco-friendly products to utilize brand utility. Every company can.

Email Social Sharing

If you don’t already send out e-newsletters (also known as e-blasts or email marketing), then you need to get in on that action. People are signing up for emails as much as ever. The difference you can make in yours is to include “social sharing” opportunities. Here is one of the best places to put your videos, images, useful information, and calls to action. This is where you make brand utility come to life. People are looking for a “share this” button. They want to share and share alike! Give them an opportunity to share your company and vision right inside your email newsletters. You will see your advertising exposure go up. And a great benefit is that for every organic share such as this, your budget doesn’t go up!

Keep these things in mind as you craft your marketing plan for 2014. Add in what you can, when you can, but make sure to prioritize what is best for your company. Strategy, LLC is here to help you with setup and implementation of a complete marketing plan within your budget. Contact us and let’s get started on your 2014 marketing plan!

The time when people turned off the “show images” button in their email is nearly gone. Given the “mobile” days we now live in, and the fact most people thrive on entertainment in everything (even their news), images and videos are not only turned on in e-newsletters they are expected! Think about the most shared posts on social media. They likely have an image or video attached. Think about the e-mail newsletters that you receive. Aren’t they filled with goodies you don’t want to miss? Products, fun facts, world news, life tips, and more are all the norm these days. And considering that snail mail is nearly a thing of the past, coupons and promotions sent via the internet NEED images and videos to catch at least a few of the billions of sets of eyes that see it. Your company’s e-mail newsletter is probably one of dozens, maybe hundreds, of e-blasts these eyes see every week, so make it worth looking at.

Here are a few simple tips to remember when adding images and videos to your e-newsletters, blogs, and websites:

Make sure they are the proper size so that you can accurately “wrap” the content around the image. This makes for an easy way to ensure a professional layout and path for the eye to follow.

Use “alt tags” for all images. For the small percentage of people who still have their images turned off, this will ensure they are not only enticed by the label (tag) you attach to that image, it might just lure them to click to your site.

Speaking of clicking: Make images and videos link to a helpful page on your site. There is nothing worse when reading an email than to have dead links or no links at all. Be sure to make the link go to a page with info and not just the image. When people click they WANT to know more. It is your invitation within an invitation.

With these 3 easy-to-do tips, you are sure to make every picture (and video) worth a thousand words instead of “oh, there is nothing to see here!” For more helpful articles and tips on image and video usage in marketing and to read the first 7 tips on Successful Website Marketing, visit our blog today. If you would like help creating a successful e-newsletter, contact Strategy today!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-8-using-images-and-videos-in-e-newsletters-sparks-customer-interaction7 FREE THINGS TO DO THAT HELP YOUR EXPOSURE (MARKETING EXTRAS)http://www.strategynewmedia.com/7-free-things-to-do-that-help-your-exposure-marketing-extrasMon, 17 Mar 2014 05:00:00 GMTStrategy, LLC.Strategy, LLC.You have a marketing budget and you are using it wisely. You’ve got an expanded website, you send out newsletters, your branding is superb. But what can you do for free? Want to know 7 things that make great impact? We are sure you do! What business doesn’t want FREE things to help their marketing strategy? Free is awesome and these 7 things are simple on top of free!

1. Offer free workshops and classes in your local area.

This one may seem difficult at first glance, but it doesn’t have to be, nor does it have to be big or elaborate. Bring people in for a Saturday morning class or workshop showcasing your items and services. Let them try them out when possible. “Hands on” translates into sales most of the time.

2. Create or become a part of a charitable event that you are passionate about.

Whatever your heart is passionate about personally can translate into your business world easily, simply because you can’t leave your passion to help others at home for the workday. So take your business, and any employees who want to participate, and join in a charitable event that will make a difference in someone’s life. Your presence will have a big impact on your business.

3. Give advice and tips.

Write about how your services or products can help everyday life and post them on your website and social media outlets regularly. Become the expert they are looking for when they have a question.

4. Ask for referrals.

If your business comes up in conversations with friends, family, and colleagues, don’t forget to ask if they know anyone who might be interested in your products and services. And give them some business cards to pass along to those they meet along the way who would need exactly what you offer.

5. Offer current loyal customers incentives and rewards.

Give your best customers access to a private membership page on your website that gives them even further advice or suggestions (this is especially effective for service providers). Maybe you have a product that could be given away as a prize in your e-newsletters. Or your business might already partner with another company that has incentive giveaways that would enhance your products. Ask them if they’d like to sponsor a giveaway.

6. Update your website frequently.

We don’t mean every week so it confuses people; but it is a great business practice to keep your website fresh and moving. This may not be completely free if you hire a media specialty company (we understand many companies need one and that is why we exist), however, your input on ideas, photo submissions, product updates, event notices, and company news are free to supply. Your input will help keep your website current.

7. Ask for product reviews.

You already know whom your happiest, loyal customers are, so why not ask them to write a review? Include this on your website and social media outlets to let others know what the real world thinks about your products and services.

Time for another Strategy SUPER TIP: Customer service is the best free marketing strategy by far. Make your customers feel like you appreciate them above and beyond the norm, and they will tell everyone they know!

For more business marketing tips visit our blog and sign up for our e-newsletters. They are filled with tips! (see #3 above!)

Humans love pictures. After all, they bring back memories, turn our frowns to smiles, remind us of loved ones, and make us want something we don't have. That last one is where marketing makes its entrance. Your marketing, that is. Images used as logos, on websites, in blog articles, and on social media can boost your "company image" by a thousand fold - since pictures are worth a thousand words. Actually the phrase "One look is worth a thousand words" was coined by an ad man and even he learned that wasn't enough. He revised it to "One picture is worth ten thousand words." Maybe you can enhance your company by TEN THOUSAND.

Humans love pictures, because we are visual. So, tell your story to people with pictures. What do your products do differently than the competitors? Show the people… in a picture. How is your service better than all the rest? Show the people… in a picture. What can you offer that others can't? Show the people… you get the picture. (Pun intended!)

Think about the vast array of social media alone. These avenues are all almost entirely built around or completely dependent on images: Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube (moving pictures… ahhh, movies tell a million words, right?), Google+, and the list goes on and on. On a personal level, we've been keeping photo albums for decades. Why not give your company a useable, online photo album? You'll be glad you did when your images get pinned, plus-ed, shared, and liked.

Strategy LLC can design your logo image to beautifully represent your company or organization, provide a uniquely designed website with personalized images through a photo session, and create videos for your social media. We can serve you up that "ten thousand" word image in a picture perfect way. Okay, we'll stop with the puns.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/images-videos-and-logos-oh-my-marketing-at-its-best-tells-storiesTIP #7: “Too Much” Can Be Overwhelminghttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-7-of-our-successful-website-marketing-seriesMon, 03 Mar 2014 06:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonYou’ve heard the saying, “too much of a good thing…,” right? Well, that holds true in marketing as well. When designing your website marketing strategy, too much is overwhelming to your clients and customers. What can be too much?

Too much… color combination.

Too much… wording.

Too much… usage of keywords.

Too much… in the category of graphics.

This list could go on and on, but let’s look at it from the basics.

If your website is filled with too many colors, the eye can’t process it all properly as it pertains to the emotions you want to evoke. For instance, if you want to portray that your products are natural, relaxing, organic, and nurturing, you’d want to use green. But did you know that the color green also positively portrays science, government, and medicine as well? All of this can be evoked by the feelings that the color green brings to our subconscious. Remember though, it would only be the main color if that is the “feel” you are going for. You would also want to use 2-3 complimentary colors in smaller areas so the eye has something to look at and the page isn’t boring. Two to three colors is a design basic in many fields, but going over that is too much. It’s simply too much to process by the eye, and too much for browsers to process. Think simple for mobile versions as well, between 15 to 30% of internet traffic comes from a mobile device.

The second thing that can be done to excess is the wording. You have a lot of valuable information to give to your page followers, clients, and customers. But if you have so much content on your pages that they have to scroll and scroll to find what they are looking for, then you will almost certainly lose their interest. You might even frustrate them so much that they move on to your competitor. Try to keep each page focused to a single topic. There is a simple rule that writers of news articles follow that can be easily adapted to website marketing:

Tell them what you are going to tell them,
tell them,
and then tell them what you’ve told them.

The first and last things should be done in eye catching ways with logos, tag lines, and other graphics and charts. The middle one – “tell them” – is your content. We explained in our Tip #1 of this series how to make sure your content stays “king” of your site. All the rest should support your content.

Keywords, the third thing on our basics list, can be overkill in content as well. If you’d like to learn more tips on how to effectively use keywords, you can find those in Tip #3 of our series. We don’t want to skip through those important tips, but we can say the general idea is that too many keywords just makes your content feel spammy. You certainly don’t want your readers to feel like you are just trying to attract search engines instead of them.

And lastly, too many graphics or images on your website will probably just confuse people. They will perceive it as “ad overload”! You want to convey you are the expert in your field, not that you only have a product or service to sell, sell, sell. Keep your images pertinent, clean, and informative. Your readers will thank you because they will find what they need quickly.

Keep these 4 basics in mind when filling your website, and your website won’t “feel” too filled. For more tips on Successful Website Marketing see the series on our blog.

Effective SEO these days requires a multi-layered series of tactics that include content development, keyword density, Meta tag optimization, social chatter, and backlinks. Backlinks are simply links that point to your website from another website. While that sounds simple, there is a bit more to it for effective SEO.

What makes a good backlink?

Quality backlinks are links that point to your website from another website with higher page authority than your current site. For SEO purposes, it makes no difference (and can actually hurt you) if the sites linking to you are all small, low-page-rank sites. Google is looking to show its customers (the searcher) the best search results possible and one way it does this is by ranking sites by their authority (for more information read our blog article on website popularity). So when you’re looking to add new sites to your backlink strategy, make sure that you select sites that have a higher page rank than your site.

How do you get good backlinks?

There are many ways to add high quality backlinks to your site. For instance, try the following:

Write regular press releases and submit to various local and national media sites or other web based PR sites such as PRWeb.com. Most media outlets will redistribute your press release for free while several web based sites will charge a small fee to promote and publish your release.

Write guest blog posts on other popular industry blogs. Bloggers are always looking for new and fresh content. When you’re invited or accepted as a guest blogger, work a link back to your site into the article.

Get listed and complete your profile on various quality directory sites. Most of these sites provide a free basic listing, just make sure you work your website into the listing.

Setup and use social media. Link back to content on your site regularly.

Write compelling, unique, and sharable content. Not only does this establish you as a thought leader, it also increases the likelihood that others will link back to you organically when they reference your content.

Add social sharing tools to your own content so it makes it easy for people to share the valuable content that you create.

How do you avoid breaking the backlink rules?

Like all other SEO tactics, people have tried to “hack” the system by overstepping boundaries established by the search engines. Backlinking is no different. When people realized that the engines were using backlinks to measure relevance, some SEO companies created huge networks of directory sites or microsites and then linked their customers to these sites and overnight the client site went from a few organic backlinks to literally tens of thousands of backlinks. It didn’t take long for the engines to wisen up to these tactics. Through recent algorithm updates, sites who engage in this backlink spamming technique are severally punished in their rankings and in some cases removed altogether. So, to avoid looking like a backlink spammer to the engines make sure you follow these simple tips:

Never buy from a company selling hundreds or thousands of backlinks. These are most assuredly spam indexes.

Be cautious of any company who promises a #1 organic ranking. There are just too many variables to make this promise. Check out our article on personalization for more info on just one reason why this is impossible to promise.

Always generate your backlinks organically and slowly over time. There are no SEO silver bullets and anyone who promises to have one will soon be rejected by the engines. SEO is something that must be done well, consistently, over time. Remember the best way to gain ranking is to provide real and valuable content that others will find compelling.

When it comes to SEO always keep your tactics above board and within the guidelines established by the search engines. SEO and digital marketing can produce phenomenal results for your organization but it takes time and hard work. If you need help with your SEO or digital marketing, contact us or join us for one of our workshops, we’d love to help!

Business owners have it rough when it comes to maintaining their brand’s consistency, especially online. There are a plethora of venues and outlets each brand needs to consider: advertising campaigns, social media outlets, email campaigns, press releases, and blog articles. But there is one cornerstone for every brand: the website.

For many businesses this is, and should be, the most important first step in building an online presence. This is where Responsive Web Design steps in. Your website needs to be accessible to as many people on as many devices as possible.

What exactly is Responsive Web Design?

The term Responsive Web Design was coined by Ethan Marcotte in May 2010 in an article on A List Apart. At the time, the idea was simple: use a flexible foundation to build your website on (and thus your online brand), and be prepared for the future.

Responsive Web Design is a pattern of design that focuses on digital media’s ability to be flexible and fluid. It builds one website, with one codebase, to execute one theme, consistently, across any platform or tool that visitors will use.

This does not mean each element will be in the same place on each screen size your site is viewed on! Fluid and flexible designs change according to the environment they are presented in, and according to each environment they adapt to their most optimized presentation for that environment.

Simply put, Responsive Web Design is about cross-device compatible design - one template, one workflow, and one central place to manage the content for your website.

Why this is powerful.

As a business owner, you know how busy the world is. There is no time (or money) to create and manage multiple platforms for the web. And yet, there are simply too many platforms which your visitors are using not to target as many platforms as possible.

Responsive Web Design takes this problem and gives you a solution: you can have a website that works beautifully on any internet capable device.

And even more powerful…

Google agrees. For Search Engine Optimization, one site with one primary URL and no redirection is better for your site’s ability to be found. Maximizing your visibility on the web is essential for your business.

What about Apps?

Apps are powerful tools, but they are more complex, and often unnecessary, for a large majority of businesses. Apps create another layer of data to manage, and are often more appropriate for businesses either with specific products that thrive on digital data or that are large enough to support an apps’ development and distribution.

Our Strategy

At Strategy, we focus on building your business’s brand and making your company irresistible to your customers. A Responsive Web Design is a good first step. To learn more about how Strategy can help you take this step, or how we can help you further develop your brand, contact us today.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/responsive-web-design-and-your-businessHummingbird: What You Need to Know About the New Way Google Sorts Your Websitehttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/hummingbird-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-way-google-sorts-your-websiteMon, 18 Nov 2013 06:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason Wilson

Google’s at it again: more algorithm changes. They keep us media specialists on our toes, but there a few things that website owners should understand so they, too, can stay on top of what works and what doesn’t. Google’s newest algorithm search creature is called “Hummingbird.” Sweet little name for a beast of a sorting system!

Google is always trying to return better, more relatable search results and to do so it needs a powerful sorting system for the billions of websites out there on the Internet. There are more than 200 things that Google – through the eyes of Hummingbird – uses to rank pages in searches. This entire overhaul, not just an update to the old system as has been before, means bigger and better things are utilized in sorting.

What does this mean for you, the website owner? In a nutshell, it means you need your Webmaster to know that the content of your site has to be relatable, reliable, and really, really current. Google is now relying on “conversational” style searching. If you have used a smart phone in the last couple of years, then you have already been taking part of conversational-style searching. You ask it a question, and it retrieves an answer based on how you asked your question. Keywords are still very important, but Hummingbird now takes into account the entire search phrase meaning.

Google was using this system a bit already, but in limited areas. Now it uses it across the billions of web pages that exist alongside yours. That’s why your website, in its entire splendor, needs to have original, current, relevant content. Make sure your site is telling the world that the stuff you have is the stuff they are looking for and your site should ease into this just fine.

If you’d like to read more about this new birdie, you can read it here on Google’s official blog about these changes. If you would rather work with a media company who can make sure your site meets the new requirements, Strategy LLC is ready to help. Give us a call at 888.299.9459.

1. Internet Marketing is a great addition to across-the-board marketing, but not a replacement.

The Internet is just one part of the marketing platform you should adopt. Local clients still want hard copy ads, television and radio ads, and giveaway marketing items. This will ensure you are remembered by your main clients first, instead of last or only when they do an Internet search. Make sure your Internet marketing connects your business to all clients, especially those who can't just get in a car and drive over.

2. Internet Marketing is about more than social media.

The most informed business owners know that "likes" and "follows" mean a great deal related to customer growth and word-of-mouth Internet advertising, but they don't always equate to customer retention. Email newsletters are one example of a great way to keep your customers regularly informed and coming back for more.

Show your clients that you are the expert in your field and have the products and services that will meet their needs.

4. Stay on topic and on course.

In other words, don't give up when the numbers aren't as strong some weeks as others. The numerous factors that flow into client participation of social posts and email newsletters might make you stress over the analytics, but don't let it. Be flexible and go with the flow. Change direction only when necessary. Your clients will stick with you.

5. Consider hiring a successful marketing agency when your time is full running your day-to-day business.

Many business owners try the "do it all" approach, which is admirable. But be fair to yourself. If your business is large from the get-go or you want it to grow, but you are too busy providing the services and products, a successful marketing agency can be your best friend in business.

At one time or another everyone forgets to check the website links they've included on their pages. But there is one hard rule never to forget about internal and external links on our sites. It’s one very important tip.

Never forget!

Okay, in all seriousness, it's true. We must remember to continually check our website links. They can change at the drop of a hat. That’s fast by the way. You can have awesome content, current images, amazing products, but if the links you supply stop working then you basically have a page dead in the water.

Easy, right? Easy to do for certain. Easy to remember, not so much.

Not only will broken links hurt your ranking among the search engines, but potential clients may view this as a sign that your website is not maintained. You certainly don’t want to give the impression you don’t care about their visit by leaving them hanging. If you change a page or link on your site, then you need to update that link everywhere you've left it, including on external sites. You have no control over other website page changes and eliminations, but you can keep a watchful eye on the links you insert on your pages. Making sure they work correctly and go to the pages you intend for them to is very important.

Another good mini-tip to remember:

Have all external links open in a new window. Why? Because if the external site doesn't offer the information your client is looking for then your website will still be open in their browser. Which means they can go to it and view more. It’s the opposite truth of: out of sight, out of mind. You are choosing outside sources to corroborate your expertise, not lose a client. Keep YOUR clients engaged at all times.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-6-make-sure-all-website-links-stay-usefulGrowth Hacking – Generating Massive Buzz with Grass Roots Resources.http://www.strategynewmedia.com/growth-hacking-generating-massive-buzz-with-grass-roots-resourcesTue, 22 Oct 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonGrowth Hacking is a relatively new marketing buzz word, but it’s actually been around since 2010. The term was created by Sean Ellis in 2010 when he defined the term in a blog post as “a person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is securitized by its potential impact on scalable growth.”

a marketing technique developed by technology startups which uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. It can be seen as part of the on line marketing eco-system, as in many cases Growth Hackers are simply good at using techniques such as search engine optimization, web site analytics, content marketing and A/B testing which are already mainstream. Growth hackers focus on low-cost and innovative alternatives to traditional marketing, i.e., utilizing social media and viral marketing instead of buying advertising through more traditional media such as radio, newspaper, and television. Growth hacking is particularly important for startups, as it allows for a "lean" launch that focuses on "growth first, budgets second." Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, AirBnB and Dropbox are all companies that use growth hacking techniques.

Growth hacking began as a response to new companies who had little to no capital with little to no experience in traditional marketing. The companies were forced to create innovative and grass-roots (viral) marketing campaigns to get the word out about their products and services.

How can your organization implement Growth Hacking techniques?

Focus on innovation, scalability, and user connectivity
Growth hacking requires thinking outside of the box and looking for growth patterns in the data that you already have. Think and plan for scalability…what will happen if your growth goes viral? How can you encourage customers and users to connect to your organization as well as to each other? The only way a campaign can go viral is if your customers are able to share their thoughts with new customers.

Create a plan for potential growth
Assume the tactics you execute will generate growth. You’ve got one opportunity to impress and win new customers. Make sure their first experience is an awesome one!

Acquire users
Use every means at your disposal to acquire new users. Offer stuff for free, encourage your current customers to evangelize your organization. Use email, postal, web, social, hats, shirts, e-books, you name it, to find and generate new users.

Make it easy to join (on-boarding)
If you have a signup form…just ask for name and email. Make it as easy as possible for people to get connected with you. It’s a first date, not a marriage proposal!

Turn free-to-play into premium-to-pay
What can you give away to get new users “hooked” on your products or services? Allow new users to try before they buy and deliver on the promises of your products.

Retain your customers
Keep in contact with your customers and keep your communications engaging and friendly. Find ways to bring humor into their lives…make it fun to stay connected with your brand. Make it easy for them to connect and share.

Go viral
As you build your audience, your customers, and your users, allow and encourage them to share the love for your products and services. Create enticements to share and like, make it fun and rewarding.

When thinking about the marketing or marketability of your organization, gather a team of folks to help you think outside of the box. Don’t be afraid to fail at some crazy and off-the-wall ideas. Take risks and find a way to hack the growth of your company through innovation and creativity. Continually measure and analyze your efforts, keep and enhance the methods that work and trash the ones that don’t… in everything measure and adjust. Need help hacking your marketing? We would love to bring some out of the box thinking to your organization…contact us today!

As technology changes, it becomes more and more challenging to keep information secure on the web. These tips will increase your chances to keep hackers and cyber-thieves at bay.

1. Make and keep strong passwords.

It used to be that 3 or 4 character passwords would keep your information safe. But as technology has advanced, so have the abilities and ways to crack passwords. The recommendation now is to make your passwords at least 8 characters with a mixture of lower case letters, capitals, numbers, and a special character like the # sign if it is allowed. And don’t make your password a familiar phrase. It might be easy for you to remember the phrase “ I love my children” but password cracking software will break that in no time. A great idea is to take the first letter of a phrase you will remember and use those, like this:

“I love my children, John, Mary, and Phil” would be “ILm3c-JM&P”.

Also, never use a password twice. If someone hacks into any of your accounts then they would be able to get into your bank accounts, your online purchase accounts, and any other well known site.

2. Use two-factor authorization.

You may or may not have heard of this option yet, but you probably have if you have a free email account like the millions of other free-email users in the world. Two-factor authorization simply means if someone tries to hack into your account it is quickly recognized by the IP address being different than your normal login IP address. You are immediately sent a text message to alert and confirm if it is you. You must supply your mobile texting number for this to work of course. It may never happen, but if it did, you would know immediately to go change that password to secure your account.

3. Always use secure networks when logging into financial and other crucial websites.

Look at the address bar before logging into your bank website and other sites on which you have personal information. If the address starts with HTTPS then you know it is secured (by the added “s”). If it doesn’t, then you either have the wrong login page or it is possibly a spoof (fake) website. The added tip here is to never, ever click on a link in an email that seems suspicious. Better yet, never click on a link that comes from any crucial website such as your bank. Simply go to the website link you trust and have saved in your bookmarks to login, or call them. They will understand your caution.

4. Consider having more than one email address to use for purchases and online financial transactions.

The email you use for your personal banking might be more secure if you use a different email for things like Facebook, Twitter, and even EBay. If someone were to hack into one then they would not automatically have access to the others.

5. Be cautious about posting your email address online.

This is simply an invitation for spam if nothing else, but it also opens up a message of “Hey, hack me. I get my email here.” Be cautious about posting your email address on forums, review sites, and message boards where spammers can easily pick up your address.

Keeping these very important tips in mind at all times will help “up” your security level on the web. Strategy LLC can help you secure your network as well, contact us here to learn more.

You have a lot to tell the world about your business. They should hear about it. But how do you do that effectively? Sure, you could share information from sources you trust, but you don’t want to only share other site information because your clients will become their clients. You could also talk about your products and services of course. You want to share just enough to give the customer what they are looking for, but not so much that they lose interest in what you are sharing. It’s true that a balanced mixture of these two concepts is a great way to gain a client base, and keep it. You can accomplish that by a simple and concise placement of the most important information about your company or organization and sharing links to corroborate that info. Then you become the expert in your field.

People often search without completely knowing what they are looking for or even knowing what product or service will answer their quandary. When you provide the most concise info about a product or service the searcher will soon become the client. That same client will share with their friends and family, which means your customer base increases based on the fact that your well placed – and well timed – info was right at their fingertips. And don’t be afraid to share the wealth of information other experts provide as long as they are not your direct competitor.

Be sure to keep the most relevant info at the top of the page, keep each page clean and easily navigable, and make sure your product links are quickly found. According to a 2011 Nielson Norman Group study, web users often leave a web page in 10-20 seconds! But it is clearly proven that pages with clear and concise value hold a reader’s attention longer. It is imperative that the information you provide is directed to the right demographic, and what you are telling them is what they need to hear.

In closing, here are the main ways to insure great placement of content and links:

Make links clear and easy to find. No one likes to hunt around.

Use images and videos to convey information. Eye candy gets eaten.

Use a sitemap if your website has numerous pages so that users can find what they are looking for quickly.

Update your website frequently. Stale information stands out... for all the wrong reasons. Place it at the top and update it to keep people coming back.

The main lesson learned with this tip is to put yourself in the customer’s place. Pretend you are looking for the exact thing you offer. Answer the same questions you had before you started your business. After all, you started it to provide something people need. Give them what they need, and you will both be happy people!

Keeping your website’s search engine optimization results high on the list means your site shows up on the first page when people search for your keywords. But it isn’t all about keywords in your content. These 5 tips, that go on behind the scenes, will go far in keeping your website at the top of the list.

1. Keep the content on target with the services and products you provide.

This means your content must give your consumers the details about what you provide. Tell them what they want to know. Anticipate their questions and concerns, then address those on your site within the content.

Keywords are still important. Make sure they are included in the Meta tags within each page. And don’t make the mistake of including them only in your home page’s Meta tags. Use various related keywords in the Meta tags and content on every page on your website.

3. List with free local business directories on the web for link backs and customer reach.

Simply put: organic results mean people find you because they are looking. Be sure to leave a link to your website on those very helpful directory sites that are most commonly used. Customers don’t want to hunt for your info. They will find your competitors’ sites much easier since they are likely already listed.

4. Submit to the search engines.

Don’t be afraid to submit your website’s URL to the major search engines. They take some time to find new sites or revamped sites with new pages since there are millions and millions of websites to comb through. By all means, literally, let them know your website is open for business.

5. Blog or post pages about current trends and information in the industry.

Become the expert in your field or industry. When a consumer searches for something, they are generally looking for answers to their questions, including those they don’t even know they have yet. If you provide pages, blogs, and social media posts about your expertise of the products or services you offer, you will gain their trust and ultimately their business.

Keep these 5 important tips in mind when you implement your web presence. You can’t go wrong when giving your potential consumers exactly what they are looking for when they need it.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-behind-the-scenes-tips-for-great-seo-resultsHow to turn your website into an e-commerce juggernaut!http://www.strategynewmedia.com/how-to-turn-your-website-into-an-e-commerce-juggernautThu, 19 Sep 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonThe Holidays are just around the corner! Is your website equipped to turn visitors into gold? eCommerce isn’t as hard to accomplish as you might think. We’ve outlined the basics below, and we’d love to help you turn your brochure website into an e-commerce juggernaut!

The Basics

Types of Commerce

E-commerce can look differently based on your needs and those needs can lead to a very simple approach or a highly complex strategy. Sometimes an organization needs a very simple solution to handle online donations; in other cases a robust solution is needed to handle ticket sales, product sales, donations or gifts, monthly subscriptions, or any number of other types of potential commerce scenarios. There are 3rd party systems available to handle nearly all eCommerce needs and when those systems are not exactly what you need, you can always have a custom solution created to meet your exact specifications.

Payment Gateways…Merchant Accounts…Oh My!

Regardless of your needs you’ve got to start with the basics, and the basics start with a Merchant Account and Online Payment Gateway. Without these two components there is no way to transfer money. The merchant account is the service that handles the transfer of funds from the customer bank account into your bank account. Most banks provide some form of online merchant account services; however, there are services available that specialize in this and are generally more affordable (lower rates). The Merchant Account holds the money from all customer orders and then sends a batch deposit to your account once a day (generally). We recommend CDG Commerce as a turnkey Merchant Account and Payment Gateway.

Internet sales also require an Online Payment Gateway/Processor. The Online Payment Gateway is the service that handles the actual electronic sale process: it verifies that customers actually have funds available in their account for the transaction and either approves or declines the transaction. In a brick and mortar store, this is the Point of Sale (POS) machine or cash register. Once the funds are validated, it transfers the funds into the Merchant Account to be held for batch processing later that day. We recommend Quantum Gateway along with CDG Commerce and Authorize.net (contact us for assistance in getting setup with Authorize.net).

Shopping Cart Solutions

Once you’ve got your Merchant Account and Payment Gateway settled, you’re ready to select a shopping cart system. There are a plethora of them on the market today. We use primarily three different systems based on our clients’ needs: PayPal, FoxyCart, and Shopify.

PayPal: This is the most affordable solution but also one of the most limited. It’s great if you’re looking for a simple way to process credit cards, and the cost of entry is free. There are some hassles with getting your money back out as the funds are retained at PayPal until you decide to take them out manually.

FoxyCart: FoxyCart is a robust cart system that can handle a multitude of e-commerce needs including donations, event registrations, monthly subscriptions, invoice payments, product sales, digital download sales, and much more. Foxy is highly customizable and allows a great deal of creative freedom. While the system is a hosted cloud platform it functions on your site for a very transparent appearance. The biggest downside to FoxyCart is a lack of inventory control and the need to manually update all products. A few additional features: coupons, discounts, configurable tax rates, live shipping rates with UPS, FedEx, USPS, and much more. You can learn more at the FoxyCart website. Cost starts at around $15/month.

Shopify: If you need all of the bells and whistles – inventory control and all the e-commerce enterprise level features of the big boys – look no further than Shopify! Shopify is both a CMS and a fully functional e-commerce platform that can handle any need you can imagine. This system includes many back office features such as inventory control, mobile access, bulk uploads, mass editing, and extended applications built to plug into other systems such as Quickbooks. Pricing with Shopify comes in a tiered format and costs range from $29/month to $179/month depending on features, number of products, and storage needs. Learn more at the Shopify website.

We have also created custom e-commerce solutions from scratch. Unless you have a large budget though, it’s best to start off your e-commerce project with one of the hosted systems.

Product Positioning

After you’ve got all of the technical aspects taken care of, turn your focus to your products. The internet is no longer just a field of dreams: you can’t just build it and expect people to arrive and buy. There are simply too many options available and too much noise on the web. If you want to have a successful e-commerce website be mindful of your product positioning with the following tips:

Use Great Images: Nobody wants to buy a product that looks bad. Use great lighting, a good camera, good angles, and a quality backdrop.

Be descriptive but brief: Use one or two sentences to vividly describe your product. Sell it, but don’t over-promise.

Specials, Promotions, Coupons: Use specials, coupons, and promotions actively. Everyone wants a good deal and people expect to find them on the internet.

Cross Sales / Up Sales: E-Commerce provides an excellent platform to introduce customers to new or similar products that relate to the item their purchasing. Use that info to your benefit.

Getting the Word Out

Now that you’ve got all of your products loaded and everything is ready to rock… you just need customers. There are many ways to get the word out. We recommend the following at a minimum:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is a vital component of getting found on the search engines. If you’ve got an amazing website and a fantastic store with wonderful products, but no one can find it… you might as well not exist. Deploy an effective SEO strategy to drive customers to your site.

Email Blasts: Begin gathering email addresses from your customers (permission based!) and send them monthly or weekly emails highlighting new products, specials, or other store related items. Email is still a primary method of reaching new customers and retaining existing customers.

Social Awareness: Leverage the various social networks to get your store out in front of customers. Provide contests and promotions in the social sphere and watch your store go viral. A little work here can go a long way in driving sales to your store.

Mix in Brick & Mortar Tactics: If you have a physical store, be sure to mention your web store in all of your print and media tactics. Provide free local pickup or delivery if appropriate.

Web Only Deals: Entice people to shop at your store with web only deals. Make it easy for people to share your web only deals with their friends and to build brand loyalty.

Conclusion

Whew… that’s a lot of work to get your store off the ground, and it can be overwhelming. That’s why we exist. We’ve helped several clients deploy their e-commerce solutions. One success story begins with a client who struggled for a year to get their store off the ground. We were able to help them with a FoxyCart solution and had their store running within a week. We’ve got the experience necessary to help build your store and drive customers to the front door. Contact us today to get your store off the ground!

Choosing a Domain Name, also known as a URL, for your website isn’t always easy… or fun! Nearly every business owner runs into “that URL is taken, please choose another” at least once. But it is so important in the fast paced internet growth pattern to get a URL that fits your business as soon as possible. Thinking ahead about marketing when choosing your URL is also important. What if your business grows from a service-business-only to include a product line? What if your business branches out into other similar genres? And what if you… are you ready… GO GLOBAL! That URL can make all the difference in the world – quite literally.

Here are some tips why choosing the right URL for your business can boost your business success. A great fitting URL:

makes the business easy to remember across all marketing platforms including social media. You want to be remembered and not forgotten.

shows credibility and professionalism across all aspects of the business.

allows for business address emails to assure clients of direct contact. Your clients may be hesitant to email you at a free email address since they might see this instead: Joe@yes-this-really-is-my-business-and-not-a-scam.trustme.

Remember when choosing a URL, you must also capture the audience of search engines. You are not just picking a URL that will look nice on your business cards. So, if your business name is Joe’s Carpet Cleaning, you should consider buying additional URLs to cover the area. For instance, you want “JoesCarpetCleaning” to be your URL, but if you service areas within a 100 mile radius, search engines aren’t going to pick up on that from your URL. You might also consider something that has your area in the URL like “CentralKansasCarpetCleaning.” You want to expand your customer base and a URL like this one will help on that front as well.

One last important tip:

If you have a business name that is on the common side or on the popular side, then be sure to buy all the options available. This saves you from the hassle of someone buying a URL that you may need later, or worse – they may buy them and use them for something that you feel is inappropriate. So, buy up the .com, .org, .net, and any other ending you’d like to preserve.

Have you read the tips in our Top 10 Tips for Successful Web Marketing series? You are sure to find more helpful information. Strategy LLC can be contacted here for marketing services. Thanks for stopping by our blog today!

Tip #4: Use both inbound and outbound links to build authority and connections.

Inbound and outbound links still have a degree of importance as far as search engines are concerned - mainly to the degree that the links show legitimacy and authority. Even if your business is not very large, the links you produce will help you gain a prominent web presence over time.

Inbound links, those that point from another website to your website, mean that others find the information, products, and services you have to offer of great value. Your content will have a huge impact on whether or not you produce legitimate inbound links. Make your content informative and helpful. Don’t resort to “quick” link building tactics; the search engines will penalize your site rankings.

SUPER TIP #1 – Make personal connections with well-known companies that can support your business by providing legitimate inbound links. Apply to write guest articles on their sites when possible, comment on their forums and blogs, and make yourself known.

Outbound links, those that you include on your site pages, should not only link to your other pages, blog, and websites, but also to other websites where you find valuable information which relates to supporting your business. Your clients will trust you even more if you share information with them that helps meet the need they are looking to fill.

SUPER TIP #2 – Make certain the outbound links you insert are always relevant to your content and business offerings. The connection must make sense to your readers and tip off the search engines that you know what you are talking about.

The right inbound and outbound links will make you the “go-to” person in your industry. Take advantage of them!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-4-of-our-top-10-tips-for-successful-website-marketingData Doomsday and Other Scary Storieshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/data-doomsday-and-other-scary-storiesTue, 06 Aug 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonEveryone with a computer fears that fateful day when their computer fails to boot. It eventually happens to all computers, Windows systems, Linux systems, and even Mac systems. It is just a matter of time before software or hardware becomes corrupt and data loss ensues. Have you considered the fiscal crisis that might arise in your organization with a system failure? Depending on the system, it could be a minor inconvenience or a shut-the-doors-and-find-another-job kind of experience.

Being in the technology field for decades, our team has heard their fair share of horror stories. We’ve seen systems failures cost an organization a few hundred dollars to several hundred thousand dollars as well as lost revenue, lost productivity, and lost opportunity. Not to mention the loss of data that just can’t be recreated. We’ve helped clients recover from such catastrophic scenarios, but the situation can truly be devastating to an organization.

We are all creators of hope. We believe that the bad stuff will never happen to us, and so we keep moving about our days getting work done and hoping that the horror of data loss will pass us by. There are better solutions, and while it requires attention and resources it will help you sleep at night.

Solution 1: Onsite Backup

There are many solutions in the market that provide onsite backup. The cost depends on the product’s automation, redundancy, and capacity. The benefit to this solution is that your data is onsite and available as needed for recovery. The problem here is that it doesn’t always scale well and can take a ton of time to backup or restore depending on the storage size and media being used. If you need a quick restoration solution, this is the way to go. However, be aware that this solution doesn't help if the building burns down. Cost can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a quality disk backup to tens of thousands of dollars for high-end systems.

Solution 2: Cloud Backup

The Cloud (a.k.a. the Internet) has grown as a powerful and affordable method to backup everything from desktops to servers. Several companies, like Carbonite and Mozy, have established themselves as affordable entry level solutions. They have very low cost-of-entry and high scalability with systems that automatically backup in real time to assure little to no data loss. Files are available online as needed and systems are easy to backup and recover as needed. Cloud backup also comes in many flavors and capabilities. Costs per year can run anywhere from just a few dollars for a workstation to a couple hundred dollars for a server to several thousand dollars for a network depending on service and capabilities.

Solution 3: Onsite and Cloud Backup with Virtualization

For those who need local reliability as well as cloud peace-of-mind there are systems available that provide the best of both worlds. Local hardware provides onsite backup and storage and real-time or daily cloud backups to assure that, if you have a minor hiccup in the office, you can easily get back up and running. The cloud provides the peace-of-mind that if your office burns down, or a natural disaster wipes out your city, everything survives in the cloud. On top of this high redundancy, there are systems that will actually allow you to run your business in a virtual environment from your onsite or cloud backups as though nothing ever happened to the hardware. You can quite literally have your office burn to the ground and within a few minutes be back up and running via a virtual environment as though nothing ever happened. This gives you not only the protection of your data, but the ability to minimize any downtime created by loss and to keep your business humming while you rebuild the physical environment. These services are now much cheaper than you might think and the total protection, peace-of-mind, and recoverability of these systems can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and finding a new career.

Conclusion

That’s a lot to digest! The main point is that you can implement a very affordable solution to provide basic data protection for your organization. Depending on your organization’s needs, you can have an affordable, total protection strategy to avoid the most catastrophic events. How well are you prepared for disaster recovery? Today is a good day to take the first step. Need help deciding which solution is right for your organization? We can help…contact us today for a free backup analysis!

Looking for an easy way to add quick video to your Tweets? The Vine app for Twitter has you covered by allowing video creation from right within your post. Just download the app for iPhone or Android and you will be tweeting the most amazing 6 second videos in no time. You can use your phone’s regular camera, or if it is equipped with a front-facing camera you can use that too. An easy to find button in the bottom left corner of your post lets you make a video with you as the star!

Want to “mention” another Twitter user? Just tag them and they will receive a notification in their activity folder. Their profile will automatically be linked in your post’s caption. Vine’s easy video creation, with automatic playback and sound, let’s you share with the world what is popular and interesting in your life. Your creativity can soar!

We’ve read a ton of tips for Vine video creation, but these stand out in our minds as important since you are making a video with a mobile device after all. To get the best possible video:

Use a Tripod. For obvious reasons, mobile devices notice every breath you take, so keeping it as still as possible will make your video stand out as top notch. Don’t have a tripod? Use a chair, countertop, or table as a makeshift steadier.

Test out the time-lapse video and stop-motion capabilities. Yes, they might take some practice, but how cool is that?!

For better audio, try earphones with a built in microphone.

Watch it, and watch it again before posting. Remember you might not want to be the next big name film director, but your video could go viral and the whole world doesn’t need to know every detail about you. Check it for safety and privacy and then … have fun!

Vine is a hot app and so easy to use that over 13 million users have downloaded it. You can start your filmmaking debut by downloading the Vine App here.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/vine-the-6-second-videoTip #3: Use effective keywords, but don’t overdo it.http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-3-use-effective-keywords-but-dont-overdo-itMon, 22 Jul 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonKeywords. Ahhh. The word every customer thinks of when they are searching for a product or service, right? Not so much! But it is a word every website content writer needs to keep in their mind while they are writing (see our Tip #1 in this series for tips on how to write great content). While keywords mean nothing to the consumer on the surface, they mean everything to them behind the scenes.

Imagine how hard it would be to find that amazing piece of art John designed if his content just used the keyword “paintings” over and over.

“John’s paintings will be showcased at a fine arts festival this fall. Watch for the announcement of where to view John’s paintings soon.”

That content wouldn’t help his website break through the hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of other artist websites. And it certainly doesn’t give his readers an incentive to want to see them. Now imagine if his main keyword described his particular art with more detail like this:

“John’s stunning plein aire paintings can be viewed all around the city in an upcoming fine arts festival. The countryside paintings are beautifully eloquent at the same time as they are informative about the country in which he lives. Stay tuned for dates and locations!”

Gives the reader a vision to look forward to seeing, doesn’t it? After all, they came to John’s website to find about his art. They will certainly want see these in person, and they will likely click on the gallery page of his website.

So remember, keywords are vitally important as the customer reads your website and social media statuses. Just remember not to put those main keywords in every single sentence since Google will yell “spam” and penalize your website.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-3-use-effective-keywords-but-dont-overdo-itTip #2 for Our Top 10 Tips for Successful Website Marketinghttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-2-for-our-top-10-tips-for-successful-website-marketingMon, 15 Jul 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonAs we continue our Top 10 list for successfully marketing your website and company, keep in mind that a well rounded strategy makes all the difference between you and your competitors.

So are you ready for Strategy’s “Tip #2”? It’s an easy one:

Update frequently!

Yes, it IS easy. It just takes a bit of time. But it is well worth the time spent, because it shows your customers that you are there to meet their needs. You will be pleasantly surprised when your customers “like” your updates about a product on Facebook, retweet a tweet you put on twitter about your companies charitable event projects, and comment on your blog post that presents your product in a whole new light. You will start to see those “likes”, tweets, and comments turn into inquiries and purchases, because your customers will see your company as the expert on the product you offer.

Updating your website frequently helps tremendously too. As people search for the product you have to offer, your updates with proper keywords will boost you to the front of the pack on search engines. Be sure to keep that Content authoritative and meaningful as we discussed in Tip #1 of this series. Content is King, but updating frequently might just be Queen. Stay tuned for more tips in this series from Strategy!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/tip-2-for-our-top-10-tips-for-successful-website-marketingWhy is branding important?http://www.strategynewmedia.com/why-is-branding-importantMon, 01 Jul 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonquicSo what is branding? And why is it so important for your business?

Branding goes way beyond just a logo or graphic element. When you think about your brand, you really want to think about your entire customer experience…everything from your logo, your website, your social media experiences, the way you answer the phone, to the way your customers experience your staff. When you look at this broad definition of branding, it can be a bit overwhelming to think about what is involved in your brand.

In short, your brand is the way your customer perceives you.

It is critical to be aware of your brand experience and have a plan to create the brand experience that you want to have… a good brand doesn't just happen… it is a well thought out and strategic plan.

Many small organizations and start-ups neglect spending necessary time thinking about their brand in this broad sense and the impact it has on their business. Let’s look at 10 reasons why digging into your brand is important:

Branding promotes recognition.

People tend to do business with companies they are familiar with. If your branding is consistent and easy to recognize, it can help people feel more at east purchasing your products or services.

Your brand helps set you apart from the competition.

In today’s global market, it is critical to stand apart from the crowd. You are no longer competing on a local stage, your organization now competes in the global economy. How do you stand out from the thousands or millions of similar organizations around the world?

Your brand tells people about your business DNA.

Your full brand experience, from the visual elements like the logo to the way that your phones are answered, tell your customer about the kind of company that you are. Are all of these points of entry telling the right story?

Your brand provides motivation and direction for your staff.

A clear brand strategy provides the clarity that your staff needs to be successful. It tells them how to act, how to win, and how to meet the organization's goals.

A strong brand generates referrals.

People love to tell others about the brands they like. People wear brands, eat brands, listen to brands, and they’re constantly telling others about the brands they love. On the flip side, you can’t tell someone about a brand you can’t remember. A strong brand is critical to generating referrals or viral traffic.

A strong brand helps customers know what to expect.

A brand that is consistent and clear puts the customer at ease, because they know exactly what to expect each and every time they experience the brand.

Your brand represents you and your promise to your customer.

It is important to remember that your brand represents you…you are the brand, your staff is the brand, your marketing materials are the brand. What do they say about you, and what do they say about what you’re going to deliver (promise) to the customer?

Your brand helps you create clarity and stay focused.

It’s very easy to wander around from idea to idea with nothing to guide you…it doesn't take long to be a long way from your original goals or plans. A clear brand strategy helps you stay focused on your mission and vision as an organization. Your brand can help you be strategic and will guide your marketing efforts saving time and money.

Your brand helps you connect with your customers emotionally.

A good brand connects with people at an emotional level, they feel good when they buy the brand. Purchasing is an emotional experience and having a strong brand helps people feel good at an emotional level when they engage with the company.

A strong brand provides your business value.

A strong brand will provide value to your organization well beyond your physical assets. Think about the brands that you purchase from (Coca-Cola, Wrangler, Apple, Ford, Chick-Fil-A, QuikTrip)… are these companies really worth their equipment, their products, their warehouses, or factories? No, these companies are worth much more than their physical assets…their brand has created a value that far exceeds their physical value.

Wrapping it up

The best branding is built on a strong idea… an idea that you and your staff can hold on to, can commit to, and can deliver upon. Your brand needs to permeate your entire organization. When your organization is clear on the brand and can deliver on the promise of the brand, you will see tremendous fruit while building brand loyalty among your customer base.

If you need assistance with your brand, from creating your initial brand strategy to the visual identity elements, contact us for a free consultation…we’d love to help you identify and proclaim your story!

If you participated in our recent webinar, Creating a Killer Social Media Presence, then you know it is important to develop an overall content strategy to support your marketing and communications plans.

Here’s a simple chart that will help you map content to the purchase process. Some key questions to ask as you get started are:
Who is the customer? What are their pain points? What is the purchase process? What content will support the process? How will we use social media to address each stage?

Learn

Solve

Compare

Purchase

Brand Assets

Key Messages

Key Messages

Key Messages

Key Messages

Product/Service Information

About Us

Product/Service Specifications

Compare Options & Prices

Warranty Customer Service

Customer Generated

Story

Photos

Social Media

Reference

Third Party Content

Article

Research

Events

Review

Offers

White Paper

Event

Trial

Financing Discount

Check out the list below of content types and take an inventory of what you have, and can start using immediately, and what needs to be developed.

Google now states that "high-quality content" is a much larger factor in ranking than back linking - the "old" way of doing SEO. A sign of the changing times? Maybe. A sign that the times are getting progressively better for businesses? Definitely. Now smaller businesses won't get pushed out of the way by sites with hundreds of self-serving backlinks and no meaningful content. Steer clear of the “backlinks galore mentality” and just go straight for what your readers and customers want and deserve.

Tell them about what you have to offer.

Share your knowledge and expertise with them.

Showcase products and services that you offer better than the competition.

Give them reason to contact you and inquire about your offerings.

Make them want to share it and tell all their friends about you!

Readers have hundreds of millions of websites to choose from on the internet. According to recent studies the number of active websites has topped 670 million. And that number rises every month. Will it swell to over 1 billion in 2013?

Knowing those numbers, you've got to rely on SEO to get your voice heard. So be sure to let that voice speak what the readers want to hear. Show them you have your field covered, your market cornered, and the product they want ready to ship, all while they search. Make them come back for more. Burst the WWW bubble on your own terms so that your customers become your fans. Don't know what SEO is yet? Connect with us! You've got the answer to the customer’s needs and we can help you tell them in a voice that will catch their attention.

Stay tuned for more of our Top 10 Tips for Successful Website Marketing!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/top-10-tips-for-successful-website-marketing-1Celebrate National Small Business Week by Creating a Killer Social Presencehttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/creating-a-killer-social-presenceThu, 06 Jun 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonJune 17 - June 21 is National Small Business Week.

The majority of businesses in America (think upper 90%) are considered a small business, i.e. 500 employees or fewer. If that's you, congratulations! We know owning and running a small business is hard work, and it can be difficult to find time to invest in your own business. Strategy, LLC can help!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/creating-a-killer-social-presenceWindows XP End of Life and Your Businesshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/windows-xp-end-of-life-and-your-businessTue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonOn April 8, 2014 Windows XP and Office 2003 will be officially designated as “end of life.” What does this mean? Starting April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, upgrades, or other patches for the operating system or the office products. Below are the details from Microsoft’s website regarding the impact of Windows XP End of Life on your business:

What does end of support mean to customers?

It means you should take action. After April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as:

Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.

Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: A recent industry report from Gartner Research suggests "many independent software vendors (ISVs) are unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP in 2011; in 2012, it will become common." And it may stifle access to hardware innovation: Gartner Research further notes that in 2012, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models.

If you still have Windows XP or Office 2003 in your business environment, you’ll need to start planning a transition to newer operating systems and office products. You’ll likely also need to consider hardware upgrades as most modern operating systems will not run on older systems designed for Windows XP.

There are many options for upgrades these days. For the operating system upgrades you can move to Windows 7 or Windows 8 or switch platforms completely to a MAC. For Office, you’ll want to upgrade to Office 365. Office 365 is a new paradigm for Microsoft: you can use the software on 5 different devices per user; you can use it installed on a local desktop or via a web browser; hardware requirements can be reduced with hosted Exchange and hosted SharePoint. The new office product offering is a good move and competes more directly with Google Apps. You can learn more about the new Office 365 by clicking here.

If you need assistance getting your systems upgraded or figuring out which version of Windows or Office is right for you, contact us today!

Did you know that not all search results are equal? Search engines have been using personalization techniques for some time now to delivery more relevant results to you based on what the search engine knows about you. If you want to geek out for a few minutes try this exercise to experience personalization first hand:

Open your favorite browser, go to Google (make sure you’re not logged in to Google) and search for something local such as "Kansas City Auto Repair" or some other generic local search term. Note the listings.

Now, using the same browser, log into Google (if you have a gmail or other Google account) and perform the same search. Note the listings.

Now using a browser other than your standard browser (i.e. Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari), perform the same search. Note the listings.

Now try searching from another location (like home or the office). Note the listings.

Most likely, you will have experienced vastly different search results all based on what the search engine knows about you from the use of logged in profiles, cookies, etc.

Here are a few things that can impact personalization results when searching the web:

Cookies. Cookies are bits of tracking information that websites use to know if you are a return visitor and what you’ve looked at before. Ad networks use these all the time to show you specific ads based on other sites you’ve been to or searched for. Search engines will show you certain results based on your past search behavior.

Logged in Profiles. Google will display different results when you’re logged in based on what it knows about you from Google+ or other behaviors in Gmail or other products. For instance, if you use Google+ and you’ve rated or +1’d a site, those sites will show up in your search results more often.

Localization. Google knows where you are physically located based on your computer’s IP address (or at least pretty close to you). You can actually change your localization setting in the Google search results by modifying the search settings and telling Google that you’re in a specific location. For instance, if you’re in Kansas City, you can tell Google that you’re in Los Angeles and then see what the search results would look like for someone in L.A.

Social Influence. At times you may see certain search results because of how you’ve ranked a site socially or because more of your friends have also “liked” the site.

So, as you can see, not all search results are the same and what shows up for you will likely be different than what shows up for me or one of your co-workers. Personalization is a double edged sword when it comes to Search Engine Marketing. It’s awesome when you’re looking for something, but it can be a challenge when you’re trying to get your site ranked on Google and your site might be pushed down the page or off the first page because of personalization techniques. Personalization occasionally can go wrong as well when you’re doing research as you will likely be presented with content that the search engine “guesses” is most relevant to you; while in fact you’re looking for something that is not the “norm” for your search behavior patterns. When this happens, try a different browser and make sure you’re not logged into the engine.

From a marketing perspective, it’s vital to think in niche markets and create content and landing pages that will appear to the wide interests of your target audiences. Remember, not everyone thinks like you and so their search results will be different than yours.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/search-engine-personalizationIncrease Your Website Popularityhttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/increase-your-website-popularityThu, 20 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonSearch engine rankings are affected by three primary factors: well optimized title tags, site content, and site popularity. Once you’ve taken care of your title tags and have created a solid content plan that’s being regularly implemented, you can begin working on site popularity. There are many ways to increase your site popularity. Today, we’re going to look at a few of those tactics.

What is this site popularity all about? Site popularity (or site authority) is an algorithm that search engines use to determine how many other sites link back to your site or talk about your site. Google has created a system called Google Pagerank that ranks a site's authority from 1 to 10. A new site will have a site rank of 1. So a site that has a rank of 2 is more popular than a site with a rank of 1. The higher your pagerank, the more likely it is that your site will show toward the top of search rankings. You can think of pagerank as votes: the more votes that your site gets, the better it will perform in rankings. Each link from another website to your site is like a vote toward your site. However, not all votes are the same. If you have a bunch of pagerank-level-1 sites linking to your site, it won’t help as much as having a few links from sites with a pagerank of 7 or 8. You can think of this ranking system like a referral network in your business. In your business, if one of your sales representatives gives a referral to your business it carries little weight in the mind of a prospect, but if one of the prospects most trusted associates makes the referral, it carries much more weight. The same logic holds true in pagerank, the better known and trusted the referring site, the more weight the back link carries for your site, helping to raise your own authority.

So, now that we (hopefully) understand the important and logic behind pagerank, how do we use it to increase our own site authority?

Back Links
Because pagerank is based on site popularity, the best way to increase your pagerank is to get mentioned or listed by other websites. There are a ton of directories on the web that will list your company and your website, some of these directories are free while others charge a small fee. Go with the free ones first and then come back to the fee based ones as needed.

High Quality Content
Everything about good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes down to creating high quality content. People won’t just magically come to your website; you’ve got to provide a reason for them to want to come, and a reason for them to tell others about you. That starts with providing high quality, sharable, useful content. Create a content plan, and produce content that is meaningful to your prospects.

Guest Blogging
Volunteer your talents to write an occasional article for well known (i.e. high ranking) bloggers, and make sure they will allow you to link back to your website. Develop relationships with bloggers who are talking about the things related to your industry. You’ve got insights, experience, and expertise; bloggers have a need to produce content. And everyone needs a break once in awhile - even bloggers want to go on vacation or get writers block. Again, it’s a content thing, but it’s a great way to get credibility.

Keep Things Fresh
Google likes fresh content and fresh sites. If your site hasn’t been updated in months, let alone years, it’s a good chance that you’re not going to rank well. If you want to win in the ranking wars, be sure to keep things fresh and up-to-date on your site. Refresh your main site content at least annually. Create a blog and update at least monthly (weekly is best). Add new content to your site monthly by creating landing pages for products and services. There are many ways to stay fresh. Be creative.

Get Social
Engage in social networks and complete your profiles. Many social networks have the highest possible pageranks; getting your site listed on those networks and getting people talking about/sharing your site on the network can have a profound affect on your pagerank.

Don’t wear a black hat
While trying tricks and “black hat” tactics to fool the search engine algorithms is tempting, it can completely destroy your search visibility. Follow the rules, be consistent, provide value, and the search engines will eventually find you and rank you well. Good marketing isn’t a sprint or the lottery; it’s a marathon. Take the time to do it right and it will pay dividends for years to come. Do it wrong, and it can harm you for years to come.

There are many ways to increase your site popularity and if you desire to rank well, it’s a critical component of successful SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Many of these tactics can be accomplished by you or your staff; however, if you need assistance, we’d love to help out. Contact us today!

So you've got a Facebook company page (you do have one right?), you've got a Twitter account (and you're using it?), you've set up your company LinkedIn Profile (you got this, too, right?), you've set up your YouTube channel, reserved your company name on Pinterest and you're creating engaging and unique content on a regular basis...people are starting to “fan” you, “follow” you, “like” you, and all of the other social buzz words.

Now that you've got some folks following you, how do you go about increasing engagement with your fans? How do you connect and encourage social sharing? How do you go viral?

Here are 10 ways to increase social engagement with your fans...

1. Listen and Respond - have a conversation.
When your customers speak, respond and engage. Conversations are two way events, so be sure to respond to all of the comments, questions, or frustrations you receive.

2. Be Authentic.
It's critical to be real with your customers in the social arena. Customers can tell when they're getting spin, and they can tell when you really care. Be open, be honest, be authentic, and you'll increase social engagement dramatically.

3. Provide value, not just self-promotion announcements.
Nobody wants to hear someone talk about themselves all the time. Provide content that helps your fans grow, laugh, and experience epiphanies...content that they think is valuable.

4. Educate and Entertain, share images and videos.
People tend to share images and videos more than any type of content on the web. Take advantage of this by creating or sharing meaningful content with your users. You don't have to create all content; there is plenty of stuff on the web to share. You've just got to keep your eye out for the good stuff.

6. Make some irresistible offers.
Everyone loves a great deal. Reward your fans with specials that only they get to take advantage of. If the offer is interesting enough, they'll most likely share your offer with their friends...that's how viral marketing begins. I like it, my friends might like it, my friends' friends might like it. People often purchase what their friends recommend.

7. Take action.
When you receive constructive or destructive feedback via your social channels, take action. Own what you should own, defend what needs defending. Engage in the conversation - your customers are. This is a great opportunity to be authentic and provide value.

8. Provide Value.
The key to raising social engagement is providing unique and meaningful content that your customers can’t find elsewhere. If you want to increase social engagement provide value by becoming a thought leader!

9. Post often and regularly but don’t be annoying.
Your fans want to hear from you, learn from you, and engage with you, but it's important not to over saturate your message...otherwise it just becomes useless noise. Depending on your market, you probably only want to post a few times a day (people start tuning out if you post without value). For sure, post every day...or at least several times a week. But don’t be a spam poster...no one likes spam unless it's in the form of canned meat.

10. Provide Value.
And finally, provide value, provide value, provide value. This point can't be emphasized enough. People are busy, and they won't take the time to engage if it's not meaningful. Provide thought provoking content and you'll see social engagement rise.

Wrap-up
I know what you’re thinking...there aren’t 10 unique things in this list...what gives?...I must have 10 unique items! Well, the truth is...the best way you can engage with your followers is to provide incredible value and earn the right to be heard. By providing value through amazing content, your fans will be compelled to share your content.

Honor your audience with your best ideas, best thoughts, and best content. In doing so, you'll become the thought leader that your fans are looking for. A side benefit is you will better represent your organization or cause, you'll learn more personally, and you'll have clearer thoughts. It's a win win. In the new economy, it's no longer about telling people what to buy...it's a two-way conversation and the value providers win.

Watching “The Voice” this season, one of the guest coaches said of a contestant, “We know you're cute. What else you got?” This may be the very thing your customers are saying of you, “We know you can do ______________. What else do you have? When there are 100 options for the same thing, why should I buy from you?”

Provide value!

Continue the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments below...or contact us today to see how we can help you engage with your customers.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/10-ways-to-increase-social-engagementHow Websites Are Like Buying A Carhttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/how-websites-are-like-buying-a-carWed, 18 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonGetting a new website is a lot like a buying a car: there are many options available to you, and what you get all depends on what you spend. As with buying a car, when your budget is small (or you don’t want to go into debt) you can go the used car route...sure, it’s got a few miles on it, but it will reliably get you from point A to point B, and it won’t break your bank account. Also for the budget-challenged is the “free” route. This doesn't really mean “free,” it just means you will invest your own time and energy instead of your money. Another option is to spend a little bit of money and hire a company like Strategy to implement a pre-designed template website for you.

If you have a dedicated budget, the options available to you really open up based on your needs, wants, and budget size. Just like car shopping, if you spend a bit more money you can get a really nice looking site that meets all of your specific needs whether that’s a Toyota Prius or a Cadillac Escalade. Occasionally, organizations need a website that really blows the roof off creatively or programmatically; in that case, you can go with a Mercedes, Jaguar, Hummer, or even a Bentley.

When looking to develop a new website, it is important to separate your needs from your wants and determine your budget constraints before getting started. It’s hard for web companies to give a blanket price for your website because there are so many variables (be cautious of those that do have bucket pricing)... Do you need basic design, highly creative design, basic HTML functionality, Content Management Systems, custom logic code, e-commerce solutions, etc.? Having a set budget and working with your web company on what you really need (as well as a few priority wants) will allow them to craft a solution that meets your objectives while remaining within your budget.

When interviewing a web company you may find the following questions helpful to assure you have the best experience.

What process do they follow? Make sure they have good discovery and architecture processes.

Does the company have experience doing the kind of work you need?

Ask for referrals. Does the company have happy customers?

Can the company help you after the design and programming to market your site so that people can find it on Google? What does this cost?

What kind of long-term support does the company offer after the site is finished?

Will training be provided on how to update the site?

Can you get a demo of the content management system that is used?

What is the typical timeframe for the site to be built?

Can the company assist you with creating content, custom photography, video production, or other content related needs for the site?

Will the company allow you to enter your own content to save money?

Is the company willing to work with in-house or other contract designers?

Building a new website can be a daunting task, but with the right company it can be a rewarding and fruitful experience that accomplishes your goals on budget and on time.

Do you have any other useful questions that would be helpful while interviewing web companies? Enter them in the comments below.

We would love to chat with you about your next web project and answer any questions you might have; contact us today!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/how-websites-are-like-buying-a-carSEM or Social Media Marketing?http://www.strategynewmedia.com/sem-or-social-media-marketingWed, 04 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonSearch Engine Marketing or Social Media Marketing: Which is right for you?

When it comes to driving prospective customers to your website, you’ve got a ton of choices these days. Beyond the traditional marketing methods of including your web address on your business card and other printed materials, there are two primary methods to drive traffic to your site: Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing.

Search Engine Marketing is a method of marketing on the web which optimizes website pages through content and paid advertising. This causes the pages to appear higher in the rankings of search engine results. These pages are known as Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs.

Social Media Marketing is a method of marketing on the web via creating content on social media websites. The purpose of this is to engage with fans and potential customers in a way that adds value and encourages them to share your content with their networks, thus building your brand awareness.

With limited budgets or limited time, which is the right strategy for your organization? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of each marketing method.

Search Engine Marketing Benefits:

People use searches to find stuff on the web. The key to being discovered on the web is to be found by search engines.

Achieving a top 5 rank for your primary keywords in the organic (non-paid) search results will drive significant traffic to your site.

In the event that you don’t have the time to achieve a top ranking on a search engine, you can buy your way to the top of the rankings through Pay Per Click advertising (PPC).

Through analytics systems you can gain a better understanding of what your customers want, what they visit on your site, and where they’re coming from. This information can be vital to producing a good experience for your site visitors and to find new customers.

Search Engine Marketing remains the most affordable form of marketing available. SEM gives you the ability to target a wide audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing with the benefit of reaching people who are actually looking for your services or products.

Marketing Campaigns can be established at no cost and can scale with your budget. If you’ve got time and are willing to do some research, SEM can be accomplished with little to no budget.

Social Media Marketing Benefits:

People buy what their friends recommend. There are few better marketing methods than word-of-mouth. Social media allows people to sing the praises of your organization to their network of friends. (It also allows them to air their grievances, so be sure your product or service delivers what you promise.)

Social media gives you the unique opportunity to engage with your customers on a personal and yet massive way. You can connect with customers, build relationships, and address customer concerns.

Social media provides you the opportunity to develop rabid fans through providing value and being authentic.

Social media networks allow you to advertise to members of various social networks through granular demographic targeting. Social networks know their member’s ages, genders, likes, dislikes, and much more, so you can be very specific about who your advertising reaches.

Two major factors contribute to search engine ranking: content and site popularity. Social media marketing is a primary method of gaining link popularity and generating viral traffic.

Now What?

So, which of these two marketing strategies is right for your organization? The simple answer is a mix of both. Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing work hand-in-hand. The good news is that regardless of budget size or available time, you can get started today in a way that makes sense for your organization. The key is to get started; prospective customers can’t contact you if they can’t find you.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/sem-or-social-media-marketingTimeline for Facebook Pageshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/timeline-for-facebook-pagesSat, 24 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonIn a few days (March 30th), Facebook will roll out the mandatory update of the new Timeline to all Facebook Pages. The new timeline will completely change the layout of your current page and provides some great opportunities to easily brand your Facebook Page. While the update happens automatically on March 30th, you can update your page to the new Timeline now. By the way, if you have a custom Facebook landing page…it will be replaced; custom landing pages are no longer allowed.

Here are a few key features to be aware of when updating to the Timeline:

The Cover Image

You can now upload a new cover image to your timeline and provides an excellent branding opportunity for your organization. The cover image needs to be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. If you try uploading a different size, Facebook will stretch or crop the image to fit. For best results make your image fit the exact dimensions.

Your current thumbnail image will overlay the Cover Image, so make sure it fits with your cover theme.

Post as your Page

When fans or page visitors visit your site, you’ll be able to respond to them as your page, this happens automatically if you’re a page admin. This is a great way to have corporate conversations with your fans.

Featured Updates

You can now highlight specific posts which will cause the post to span both columns in the Timeline allowing you to call attention to featured content or events in your organization.

Easier Management Tools

The new interface allows you easier access to new “Likes”, recent notifications, direct messages, and “Insights” which give you analytics information on the traffic or engagement of your Facebook page with your fans.

Your Turn

With the new changes to Facebook Pages you have an opportunity to build and develop your brand in the social arena in a much easier way than previously available. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity. Contact us today if you need help creating or updating your Facebook Page!

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/timeline-for-facebook-pages5 Essential Cloud Systems for Small Businesshttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-essential-cloud-systems-for-small-businessTue, 13 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonThe Cloud (a.k.a. the Internet) provides terrific technology solutions for small businesses. There are several benefits of cloud services including the ability to avoid costly hardware and infrastructure costs, infinite scalability, low to no cost of entry, and ease of access from anywhere in the world via the web. Here are a few of my favorites:

Box

What would cloud services be without massive data storage capabilities! There are a ton of service providers in this arena. I prefer Box as it has a very easy to use interface, makes it very easy for customers to access files, granular security, and best of all…everything is encrypted so privacy is assured. Cost of entry is free with up to 50GB of storage. Learn more at www.box.com or watch the video below.

Quickbooks Online

There are many cloud based accounting systems available. The industry leader is QuickBooks. Their QuickBooks Online offering starts with a zero cost of entry and provides industry leading accounting solutions. We use the plus version at $39/month and haven’t seen any drop off from the full desktop version. A few nice benefits: online banking integration, easy accountant access, access from anywhere via the web, a nice iPad application for basic functions, online payments, easy email invoices/statements, and great reporting. Over the last couple of years Intuit has made great quality improvements on this offering. You can find more at http://quickbooksonline.intuit.com/

WeDoIst

Need a project management solution? Need crazy simple and infinitely customizable? Check out WeDoIst at www.wedoist.com. I love this cloud service, and you can get started for free. WeDoIst provides an excellent tool to keep projects moving along smoothly...works especially well with distributed teams. Check out the following video to learn more.

HighRise

HighRise is a contact relationship management system (CRM) that is super easy to use. 37signals, the creators of HighRise, do an amazing job of making beautifully simple software. If you dig web 2.0 stuff like WeDoIst, then HighRise is a no brainer. These guys took the opposite approach from SalesForce and made CRM fun and extraordinarily easy to use. You can check it out at http://highrisehq.com.

Carbonite

Another favorite cloud service is Carbonite. Carbonite allows you to forget about backup systems. Starting at $55/year, Carbonite provides unlimited storage and instantaneous backup protection for your desktops, laptops, or servers. Not only do you get off-site backup protection, you can also access your files via secure login from anywhere in the world via the web. File or system restoration is also a breeze…I’ve actually had to restore a system off of Carbonite. While traveling, I’ve often found myself grabbing files that I needed from my office system. If you don’t have a backup solution…install Carbonite today! Check it out at www.carbonite.com.

Conclusion

There are many amazing cloud services available these days; these are 5 of my current favorites. Leave a comment and let me know what your favorite services are. If you need help getting set up with any of the services listed above or if you want to talk about migrating your office to the cloud let us know about your project here.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/5-essential-cloud-systems-for-small-businessGetting started with Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/getting-started-with-search-engine-optimizationSun, 04 Mar 2012 06:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonYou’ve got an amazing looking website; everything is just how you want it. Content is great, images are compelling, your customers clearly understand how to contact you, but no one is knocking on your digital door. These days, you can’t just build a new site and expect the global economy to blow your roof off. There is a lot of noise on the web and having a beautiful website is only the first step in having a successful online venture.

So, how do you tell the world that you’re open for business? One answer is Search Engine Optimization also known as SEO. About a decade ago you could program a few “meta” tags in the back end of your code and your site would be discovered by the search engines and - behold! - customers would come knocking. These days, things are a bit more involved. Search engines are smarter; they’ve had to evolve to stay ahead of keyword spammers and black-hat SEO practitioners. SEO has also evolved into more sophisticated Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies. Although the world of digital marketing has gotten more complex and there are many tactics available, there are still a few basic elements that should be addressed when beginning any SEO / SEM effort.

Search Engine Optimization: Meta Tags

The foundation of any SEO effort is to create quality meta tags using current best practice optimization rules. There are three primary tags to be concerned with: Title, Description, and Keyword tags.

Title Tag

The Title tag appears up in your browser's title bar when viewing a website and should contain no more than 66 characters. Google uses your page “Title” as the link in their search index. Place your most important keywords toward the front of the title tag.

Description Tag

Descriptions are no longer used to impact search ranking but they can be helpful to entice a user into clicking through to your site as it gives you an opportunity to tell them about your page before they visit. In some cases Google will not display the description and will substitute it with body content. Descriptions should be less than 150 characters. Both Titles and Descriptions should be unique for every page on your site so that the search engines know the content is different from page to page.

Keyword Tag

Keywords are not used by the major search engines any longer for ranking purposes due to the high amount of abuse over the last 15 years; however, it may still be useful to optimize this meta tag for some lesser known search engines.

Body Content Optimization

Content is the new king metric of internet search engines. (Check out this video from Coke on content marketing). As a result, if you want to rank well with Google, Bing, or Yahoo, you’ve got to have great content. Make sure that your body content is interesting, sharable, and has a high saturation of keywords for your targeted audience. Ideally, each page of your site should have a single focus and be engaging. Definitely do not try to create pages that are just stuffed with keywords in an attempt to trick the engines, they’re smart enough these days to understand good content from keyword spam content and before you know it, you’re page will be removed from their indexes.

Site Popularity

Site Popularity, like content is another major factor in page ranking these days. The search engines use very complex algorithms to see how popular your site is on the web. Essentially, the more websites that link to your site or the more your site is mentioned in the Social Web the more popular your site is. Thus, it is essential to engage in social media and to develop rapid followers who like to talk about what you’re doing. The best way to get people talking about you is to provide good content worth talking about as well as easy methods for people to share your content.

Google+ Pages

Beyond SEO, Content Marketing, and Social Media another excellent way for businesses to be found on the web is through setting up a Google+ Pages (formerly Google Places) profile on Google. This allows local customers to quickly and easily find your business. Google+ Pages often appear before organic search results. Be sure and claim your space today!

Clear Conversion Path

Once you’ve started driving new potential customers to your site, it’s critical to provide a clear and easy way for the site visitor to connect with you socially, contact you traditionally, or convert into a customer. Provide your phone number, email signup capability, blog RSS feeds, social icons, widgets, and forms - all of which allow the visitor to engage at an appropriate level with your organization.

Conclusion

Well, that’s a lot to absorb! Take it one step at a time or hire a great company like Strategy to assist you with getting started in Search Engine Optimization. Remember: there are no Silver Bullet SEO tactics (just hard, consistent, good work) and just because you built it, doesn’t mean that people will magically show up. You’ve got to tell them about the site, and you’ve got to provide value in your content that is worth talking about and worth following.

]]>http://www.strategynewmedia.com/getting-started-with-search-engine-optimizationTrader Joes & Customer Servicehttp://www.strategynewmedia.com/trader-joes-customer-serviceThu, 23 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMTJason WilsonJason WilsonI recently enjoyed my first trip to Trader Joes. I was hesitant and not exactly excited, but my wife and nearly every fifth person I came across praised the merits of the organic grocery store. I must say, I think it was one of the best shopping experiences I've had in a long time. They have captured an amazing culture of great customer service. I've rarely witnessed the joy and delight of employees who truly seemed to love their jobs. From the stockers to the checkout folks, it was awesome and addictive. I understand why people rave about Trader Joes. I'm excited to go back, I'm proud to support such a company with my grocery budget and I became a raving fan after one single experience. All of the marketing dollars in the world can't compete with an organization who is truly committed to great customer service. Do you want to gain new customers? Gain more brand awareness? Breed a culture of amazing service in your organization and your customers will rabidly spread your message... Want to go viral? Stand out by fostering excellent customer relationships.

The quickest way to waste your marketing money is to not live up to the hype....if you're going to hype...you've got to not only meet the expectation, but exceed it. Trader Joes does it in an amazing retro small town kind of way. How about you?